


Don't Cost a Thing

by PsychoSister



Series: Falling Like SteelDominos [1]
Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: (But it's only in one scene), Blood and Violence, Dominic Domino, Gun Violence, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Partners to Lovers, Romantic Tension, SteelbeakxDomino, not my OC, steeldomino
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-20 21:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21063452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoSister/pseuds/PsychoSister
Summary: Steelbeak, well-known ladies man and chief officer of F.O.W.L., unintentionally ends up annoying his partner, Dominic Domino, by showering him with incredibly expensive and unwarranted gifts. Will he figure out the right way to earn the other bird’s attention?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eleanorose123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleanorose123/gifts).
**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic finds a gift waiting for him- one he refuses to accept, no matter how much his partner pesters him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fanfic starring the wonderful OC Dominic Domino created by Eleanorose123. If you want to know more about him, go check out her story Lost and Found for his first appearance [or her tumbler account](https://thefriendlyfour.tumblr.com/search/dominic+domino) for more information and awesome art featuring Domino then come back and enjoy the story!

Deep beneath F.O.W.L. headquarters, agent Domino- or Dominic, depending on whom he was speaking to- made his way through the base’s large garage of cars to his own vehicle. It had been another long day of running missions and he was more than ready for the comfort and quiet of his own home.

As he approached the car, keys in hand and already planning out what the rest of his night would entail, something in the driver’s seat caught his eye. “Hm?” He peeked in through the window and spotted something that made him roll his eyes with a scowl on his long beak. “Not again..” He unlocked his door and reached in to pull the offending item out of his car and into the poor lighting of the garage.

The item in question was a small box wrapped in shiny metallic wrapping paper (steel colored, he realized) with a red ribbon tied around it. There was a small note tucked under the edge of the ribbon, but he didn’t even need to read it to know who it was from- with the box’s color scheme, it was pretty obvious.

Still, his eyes glanced at the card out of habit and he saw the expected combination of letters that was short but irritatingly familiar by now: “To- D.D., From- S.B.”

It was the same card that had appeared on every gift he’d received for the past six weeks, five days, and 22 hours- yes, he’d been counting. Dominic had been receiving these sorts of unwarranted presents at a steady rate of at least one every three to four days, all from the same person.

“Aw, c’mon- ya could at least humor me an’ open it, Deedee.” Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear…

Dominic spared a glance to one of the garage’s pillars and spotted his partner, Steelbeak, leaning casually against the tall column with his arms folded over his chest.

“Whatever it is, I don’t want it.” Dominic said while setting the box on the hood of the car next to his own. He then turned back to his own car and opened the door. “And quit breaking into my car- at this rate you’ll bust the locks.” He was about to get in, but a hand on the car’s door prevented him from closing it. “Steelbeak..” He said in a low, warning tone of voice.

“You ain’t leavin’ me a lot of options here, Dee.” Steelbeak said while looking down at his partner and not letting go of the door. He was careful to keep a couple of inches worth of space between his hand and Dominic’s own on the door, making sure they wouldn’t touch by accident. “Ya could at least open it.”

Dominic gripped his car door tighter in preparation. “Like I said-” He jerked the door out of his partner’s hand while putting his key in the ignition. “_I don’t want it._” Before the rooster could get the chance to try continuing the conversation, Dominic started the car, closed and locked the door, and drove away from the parking lot, leaving the frustrated looking chicken behind to glare after him.

Some would call Dominic’s attitude towards his partner unnecessarily harsh. Some would say he was putting up walls that didn’t need to be there. And some others (like Steelbeak himself) would say that he needed to remove the stick from his backside and loosen up a little.

To each and every one of those people, Dominic would simply say in return that they needed to shut it and mind their own business. They weren’t the ones that had to deal with Steelbeak and his constant barrage of unwarranted gifts that were, frankly, becoming a hassle to deal with.

Arriving at his apartment and opening the front door, he could instantly tell that something was…off. Not in the life-threatening “assassin hiding in the coat closet preparing to kill him (again)” way, more like the “someone was in here earlier and already left but he could still practically smell their high-dollar cologne” way.

Closing his eyes and taking a quick inhale confirmed Dominic’s theory. He took off his hat and coat, hanging them neatly in the foyer closet before following the now-familiar scent through his apartment.

Jasmine and roses in the front doorway.

Carnations, lavender, and lily of the valley in the living room.

Cedar and sandalwood as he passed the kitchen.

Tonka beans, musk, and a few assorted spices down the hallway.

Then, finally, the spicy final piece to that distinctive combination- red pepper, cloves, and black pepper- when he opened the door to his bedroom.

“Carrion Poivre.” Dominic stated as he scanned his bedroom for any anomalies. “There’s only one person I know with THAT taste in cologne.”

Then, he spotted it. Sitting like a flare in an empty street in the middle of the night, there it was- the silver present with the red bow, right on the foot of his bed on top of the black duvet.

To be even more exact, it was in the same spot he always sat down on when he got home while changing his clothes. The fact that Steelbeak knew THAT (there were no cameras in his home, he’d checked for them countless times by now) bothered him far more than **_how_** the present had wound up there in the first place- after all, they _were_ spies, and stealing or leaving items behind in nearly unexplainable ways was part of their job description. He could already see the many possible ways it could have been done- Steelbeak could have taken a jet to beat him home, or he could have taken an underground tunnel, or “borrowed” some new teleportation technology from the lab, or the present before was just a fake and he’d already snuck in earlier to leave the real one there long before he entered the garage, or he could have hacked into the city’s traffic control system and delayed him with the ludicrously high number of red lights he’d run into on the way home-

Dominic stopped himself before his mind could continue conjuring up scenarios. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then let it out slowly. He was NOT going to let this get to him.

Walking over to the bed, he brushed the offending box aside so that he could continue his daily routine in peace.

He succeeded in ignoring the tacky silver paper-wrapped package for as long as it took him to change back into his regular every-day clothes. However, as he adjusted his shirt, he saw the metallic paper gleaming in the light and his curiosity finally got the better of him.

Picking the present up from where he’d knocked it over on the bed, Dominic untied the ribbon before neatly plucking open the sides of the wrapping paper without tearing it (the tape was hidden better this time- his skill at wrapping these was improving). With the paper gone, he saw an unmarked black jewelry box inside.

Opening the box revealed a watch. Not just any watch, he noted- a genuine Crowlex. It was part of their newer series that he’d seen advertised in some of his magazines recently, the oyster perpetual set. He had to admit, it was tastefully designed with its black metallic face, stainless steel band, and the myriad of diamonds all over the watch. It was nice, but more than a bit ostentatious for his liking, something he’d probably save for a classier event such as a black-tie party or-

No. That train of thought was stopping RIGHT THERE.

Getting up from his bed, Dominic walked over to his dresser and opened the third drawer on the right side- the one that his mind was beginning to label as “The Steelbeak Drawer”. Opening it revealed a plethora of equally expensive trinkets: Diamond studded cufflinks, a jewel encrusted tie-pin, an assortment of gold and silver rings, and a bottle of cologne studded all the way around with genuine Swanovski crystals.

Dominic placed the watch in the drawer next to the bottle of cologne before closing it again. He then gathered up the wrapping paper and ribbon, threw them away in the waste basket by his bed, and went about the rest of his day as if his partner hadn’t broken into his apartment just to leave a gift worth thousands of dollars on his bed in a vain attempt to buy his attention.

It wouldn’t work, anyway- he wouldn’t LET IT work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kept the intro short since the second part’s a bit longer ^^”
> 
> Also, sorry for all of the fancy brand puns, I just couldn’t resist xD
> 
> For anyone who didn’t get all of the item references, here: Carrion Poivre is a play on Caron Poivre- an expensive gender neutral perfume/cologne that costs about $1,000 an ounce and felt like something Steelbeak would use. Crowlex is obviously a play on Rolex, and the watch is a real one. And finally, Swanovski crystals is a play on Swarovski crystals and they actually do make their own perfume/cologne line (ironically called Bond no. 9 xD).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steelbeak bitterly reminisces over the mission that turned his life (and his romantic preferences) upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we get to have some backstory from Steelbeak as he deals with his first ever bi-panic xD

Domino wasn’t gonna wear the watch- Steelbeak could tell.

He didn’t need to go to his apartment next door to ask. He didn’t have to sneak a camera in there to look (he wasn’t that much of a creep- well, at least not to his partner, he wasn’t). He didn’t need Domino to try giving him back his gift (again).

Steelbeak could just sort of **_feel_** it. He’d gotten pretty good at that sort of thing lately…

With a frustrated groan, Steelbeak slumped over in the chair at his dining room table, letting his head hit the hard-wood with a dull thud (and a more prominent “thunk” from his beak hitting it).

“What’s a guy gotta do t’ get noticed around here?!” He asked no one in particular before sitting up when the timer in his kitchen went off.

Needing to vent his frustrations, Steelbeak shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered to himself while walking into his kitchen to check the state of his dinner. “No good, uptight, gift-refusin’, moody..” His mumbled insults towards his partner trailed off for a moment when he had to slip on an oven mitt and reach into the oven, pulling out a sizeable tray of roasted vegetables and potatoes.

“Flirty, smart-mouthed, good lookin’..” His insults were starting to sound less like insults as he assessed the state of his food and deemed it done enough to eat.

“Charming…cool…clever…” He wasn’t even trying to insult the loon anymore as he pulled out a bottle of red wine and a single wine glass from the wine rack above his counter.

“……” He stopped completely when he saw the deep red color of the wine as it filled the glass. It wasn’t the right shade of red- not even close- but it was enough to make him think about the startling red color of Domino’s eyes and how much he’d grown to enjoy the looks he’d see in those incredibly distinctive orbs. “Shoot…can’t even eat in peace…”

Deciding that he needed something to calm himself down before he’d be in any mood to eat, Steelbeak turned off the burner that was currently cooking a steak with sautéed mushrooms, figuring they wouldn’t burn at this point, and took his wine into the living room with him so he could enjoy a little pre-dinner drink by himself.

He sat down in one of his more comfortable leather arm chairs by the large window that allowed him to look out over the city lights in all their late-night glory. Gulping down his first glass of wine like it was nothing, he quickly refilled it with the bottle he’d brought in with him.

Staring down into the deep-red depths of his glass, Steelbeak’s mind wandered for the umpteenth time back to the night that had started this bittersweet feeling festering inside of him…

_It was a pretty standard mission, all things considered: There was an elusive target that F.O.W.L. wanted to track._

_The easiest way to do it? Have two of their top agents stakeout the target’s favorite bar and slip a microscopic tracking device in his drink when he wasn’t looking- giving their bosses precise knowledge of their target’s movements and location for an extended period of time._

_The hard part? The guy was a notorious lone-wolf- literally, as he was a member of the infamous “Wolf-Pack”, a group of highly paid wolves that ran a multi-billion dollar law firm that had crossed F.O.W.L. one too many times. He was a stickler for his routines, always going out to the same bar every day after work, staying just long enough for a couple of drinks, and then leaving without talking to anyone more than what was necessary. The higher-ups wanted information on where their target went after leaving the bar, as he always seemed to shake any surveillance unit they assigned to watch him._

_The obvious method would have been to replace the bartenders or a server with an agent, but this place had high security due to the wealthier clientele they catered to- everyone that worked there was put through as many security checks as the guests, meaning it would be nearly impossible to replace someone without someone else noticing, even if it was for just a minute._

_The second most obvious method would have been to just bribe the bar tender, but doing so in the past had resulted in other customers guilty of such offers being forcibly ejected from the premises._

_This left the agents with only one method at their disposal: Directly depositing the micro-tracker in the target’s drink AFTER he’d ordered it. A trickier tactic, but not as impossible as some tasks the duo had been given over the course of their partnership._

_They’d come in separate cabs so as not to draw attention, with Domino arriving about ten minutes before Steelbeak and seating himself in the furthest back corner of the horseshoe-shaped bar top. By the time Steelbeak had arrived, Domino was already conversing with the bartender while the tall falcon poured him a glass of cola._

_“Startin’ the party without me, Deedee?” Steelbeak asked while taking the vacant seat next to his partner._

_Domino took a sip while Steelbeak placed his own drink order. “Unlike you, I don’t believe in drinking while on the clock.”_

_“Or off it..” Steelbeak mumbled under his breath, not caring if the moody loon heard him or not. Things were quiet between them for a moment while Domino drank his soda and Steelbeak waited for the bartender to walk away and start mixing his own drink for him. “So…the patsy here yet, or what?” He kept his voice low enough that no one would overhear them, but not so quiet that it would seem suspicious- a perfect blend to simulate normal private conversations._

_“Secondary bar towards the back- third seat on the left in the pin-stripe suit.” Domino answered, matching the rooster’s tone perfectly. “He got here two minutes and twenty-three seconds ago and just received his first drink.”_

_“Looks like he doesn’t waste any time either- you two’d get along great.” Steelbeak commented wryly after receiving his concord in a martini glass. He took a long sip before continuing the conversation, reaching into his coat pocket to pull out an extremely small envelope. “By the way, the boys at the lab had some very **un**fortunate news for us…” He passed the envelope discreetly over to Domino under the bar._

_Domino kept one hand on the bar while opening the envelope with the other one out of the line of sight of anyone who may pass by. A glance down into the opened envelope caused the corner of his beak to turn down in an irritated scowl. “Seriously? Only **two**?”_

_“Yeah, yeah, that was my reaction, too.” Steelbeak replied with a roll of his eyes at the memory of the cowering scientist that he helped get **re-acquainted** with the inside of his storage cabinet when he’d been given the bad news._

_Domino’s gaze returned to their target at the other bar. “He usually doesn’t stay for more than two or three drinks, so that means our chances are limited to one attempt per drink…**great**.” He said the last word with an air of dead-pan sarcasm to further show his displeasure with the situation._

_“Not much we can do ‘bout it now- ‘less YOU wanna be the one t’ call up F.O.W.L. high command and tell ‘em we can’t finish their little stalking mission.” Steelbeak finished his drink and set the glass down on the bar. As he looked at the empty glass, he got an idea that made a slow smirk spread across his face. “Or..we could make this a bit more **fun**.”_

_Domino easily picked up on the challenge hiding within Steelbeak’s statement. “I’m listening.”_

_Steelbeak held up two fingers. “Two trackers, two of us. How’s about we each get one and take turns seeing who can get old fluffy over there t’ drink one first. Loser pays the tab tonight- you in?”_

_Domino just rolled his eyes at the offered wager. “Sounds like YOU’D have more to win from that then me.” He gestured to their emptied drinks in indication. “Last time I checked, a soda didn’t cost as much as a concord.”_

_“Fine, if you’re gonna be picky ‘bout it- drinks tonight and dinner tomorrow.” Steelbeak conceded, raising his empty glass towards Domino in lieu of a handshake. “So, you in or what?”_

_Domino picked up his glass after considering the wager for a moment, tapping it to Steelbeak’s own to seal the agreement. “You can go first.”_

_“Oh, what a gentleman.” Steelbeak remarked sarcastically before grabbing his micro-tracker from the envelope and making his way over to the other bar. The wolf was already getting his second drink for the night, meaning their time on this was short. Deciding to go for the more subtle approach, Steelbeak kept the tiny device gripped carefully between two of his fingers and waited for the right moment to strike. Then, he saw it- the far more inebriated groundhog beside their target was getting up from his seat and stumbling his way with a bottle of beer in his hand. Steelbeak positioned himself just right as he walked so that the intoxicated groundhog bumped right into him, spilling some of his beer on his suit in the process (an unfortunate but necessary casualty in the line of duty). “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!”_

_“Sh-Shoot, sorry, man.” The groundhog slurred out, quickly retreating away from the irate rooster before he could get his much smaller butt kicked by the towering fowl._

_The spectacle was just enough to get the wolf at the bar to glance over and Steelbeak heaved a long-suffering sigh once he knew he had the other man’s eyes on him. “Un-be-lievable..” He sat down in the recently vacated seat and brushed some of the suds from the beer off of his suit’s coat to reveal the darker spot beneath. “Just my freakin’ luck..” He turned to the wolf next to him and nodded towards the napkin dispenser on the other side of his glass. “Hey, fuzzy, mind if I get some o’ those?” He began to reach towards the dispenser. This was gonna be easy, he’d just drop the tracker in his glass while reaching for the napkins and-_

_“Here.” The wolf said suddenly and picked the dispenser up, placing it in front of Steelbeak on the counter. “Hope that comes out.” He added before downing the rest of his drink._

_“…….Thanks.” Steelbeak fought the urge to glare or look as irked as he felt at being so unintentionally and thoughtlessly blocked in his attempt._

_Well, there went his chance._

_He wiped the beer off of his suit and tossed the dirtied napkins onto the bar before taking the walk of shame back over to where his partner was waiting for him at the other bar._

_“Well, that was quite a show.” Domino remarked to him with a smirk when he sat back down in his previous seat. “I especially enjoyed the part where you got to look like even more of a fool than usual.”_

_“Yeah, yeah- laugh it up, wise guy.” Steelbeak said with a roll of his eyes. “I’d like to see YOU do any better.”_

_“Well, if you insist.” Domino replied with that same infuriating smirk on his face._

_And with that the loon rose from his seat and smoothly made his way over to the other bar, weaving through the crowd of drunken socialites with a clear ease that came from years of training and mastery in the art of blending in with a crowd- if Steelbeak hadn’t been watching him directly, even he probably would’ve lost track of the nearly colorless bird._

_As he waited to see what sort of plan his uptight partner had up his sleeve, Steelbeak ordered another drink from the bar. He sputtered and nearly choked on his autumn fizz when instead of trying some sort of stealthy, subtle approach like dropping the tracker in his glass when the poor shmuck wasn’t looking, Domino actually **sat down** right next to the guy and started **talking** to him. No clever set up, no false pretenses, he just slid right into the same seat that Steelbeak himself had occupied not even five minutes ago and started conversing with the other man with an air of confidence and charm that usually meant he was-_

_Oh._

_“Unbe-freakin’-lievable..” Steelbeak said to himself with an air of disbelief while wiping the alcohol from his beak and chin. “Is he actually FLIRTIN’ with that yutz?” As he continued to watch it appeared that, yes, that was indeed what the other bird was doing. He’d seen him flirt with enough guys by this point in their partnership to recognize that charming smile and the look in his eyes well enough. Much to his ever-present annoyance…_

_The flirting got worse (or better, depending on who you asked) when Domino ordered a drink from the bartender. Actually, scratch that, it looked like he’d ordered TWO drinks- one for himself and one for the man he was flirting with. The drinks set down in front of them looked similar enough, both of them being dark and fizzy with a bright red maraschino cherry garnish, but Steelbeak would bet a few hundred that Domino was just drinking a Roy Rogers rather than the likely cocktail of rum and coke the other man got. He watched as the pair clinked their glasses together, taking a brief break from their conversation to take their first sips._

_Once they’d started talking again, Domino apparently decided to kick things up a notch and removed the cherry from his glass, popping the whole thing into his beak with a seductive look in his eyes and- no way. There was NO WAY he was going to-_

_Aaaaaaand, he did. He’d tied the cherry stem with his tongue and turned it into a neat little bow that he pulled out and set aside while winking at the now-blushing wolf. Steelbeak was too far away to hear what they were saying, but, from what he could gather reading the other bird’s beak as he spoke, he seemed to be making a comment about “enjoying cherries”- wow, talk about misleading innuendo._

_While the wolf was still reeling from the dark-feathered bird’s demonstration, Domino reached over and slowly began to trace the rim of the poor sap’s glass with one finger before plucking the cherry from its resting spot on the rim and smoothly stole it to repeat the earlier action. The wolf was too enamored to notice, but Steelbeak had seen it- the tell-tale shift of Domino’s fingers while they’d been over the glass reaching for the cherry._

_The son of a gun had actually DONE IT. Well, so much for getting some free drinks tonight…_

_With his mission completed, Steelbeak expected Domino to abruptly get up from his seat and come back over to gloat about his success in the face of Steelbeak’s failure. Much to his surprise, however, that did not happen. Instead, Domino seemed perfectly content to stay and continue chatting the well-dressed canine up for a bit longer while they both lazily nursed their drinks._

_Someone who didn’t know Domino that well would just assume that the intelligent loon was simply staying there to make sure his job was done properly- making sure that the target finished his drink and consumed the tracer without incident._

_Steelbeak, however, KNEW Domino by now. He knew when Domino was being overly-cautious and ensuring that his work was being done correctly. He knew when Domino was just trying to maintain his cover and avoid arousing suspicion. And, lastly, he knew when Domino was enjoying himself and having fun._

_While his reason for staying over there may have been a minor combination of the first two, it was most assuredly the latter that was keeping him over there for as long as he was._

_“Wow, Dom, would it kill ya to have some standards for once?” Steelbeak muttered before shotguning the rest of his drink and demanding another one from the bartender. He needed something to take his mind off the chatty pair across the room._

_Steelbeak spent the next excruciating chunk of time (in reality it was only about ten to twenty minutes) pounding back a collection of differently colored but equally strong drinks and keeping an eye on his partner. It was honestly as infuriating to watch as it always was whenever Domino found a man that caught his eye- the way he’d talk so smoothly and casually, the way he’d look at the other guy with that charmingly suave smile of his, the way he’d give them those looks that’d make them grin or blush. Honestly, it was like watching an entirely different person from the sour-faced partner he was used to._

_Domino being grumpy, he could handle. Domino losing it when someone touched him and beating said someone to within an inch of their life, he could handle. Heck, he could even handle Domino being sarcastically snarky and smart-mouthed with him- if anything, the way he smirked was the closest thing he’d ever given Steelbeak to an actual SMILE._

_But his flirting…his flirting was something that Steelbeak could NOT handle._

_What made everything even worse for the poor rooster was that he just didn’t understand **WHY** it bothered him so much to watch his partner flirt with other guys!_

_At first it was because the other bird was so open about his preference for the same gender over the opposite that it made Steelbeak more than a little uncomfortable- he was a lady’s man and he couldn’t even begin to fathom why someone would choose hard edges and solid muscle over soft curves and invitingly squeezable **assets**. He’d gotten over his general discomfort with that part, though- if that’s what the guy was into, then so be it, he just wouldn’t be able to see the appeal, personally._

_He knew it wasn’t because he disliked the way the other bird flirted with anyone that caught his eye only to leave them high and dry later, his own morals weren’t high enough to care about that. Steelbeak himself was a master in the art of flirting and seducing- he’d had more dames then he could even bother to count (seriously, if he had a nickel for every girl he’d successfully chatted up, he’d probably be rich enough to buy out half the world’s private islands)- and he did the old “love ‘em and leave ‘em” bit every time without a care if he’d see them again._

_And, though he loathed to admit it, Domino’s technique was surprisingly impressive. Steelbeak was well-versed in how to use flirting as a weapon when the need arose, and Domino, honestly, matched his skill level perfectly. If one of them set their eyes on a target of their own personal interest, whether it was for work or for fun, they’d have that person eating out of the palm of their hand in no-time flat. Domino’s current display only served as a perfect example at how skilled he was at what he did._

_Still, despite crossing off every possible reason for why it COULD bother him, Steelbeak had yet to figure out exactly why it DID bother him. After all, what his partner did for fun was completely up to him, just like it was none of the loon’s business what Steelbeak did for his own entertainment._

_Watching the pair across the room finish up their drinks, Steelbeak started on his sixth cocktail (a bellini in a chilled champagne flute), with the alcohol levels slowly starting to get to him. “Gee, Dom, take your time, why don’t’cha?” He grumbled after downing a decent portion of his champagne and puree mixed drink. “Ain’t like I’m waitin’ over here or nothin’..” That probably wasn’t a fair complaint, considering they were both technically waiting for their ride- F.O.W.L. wasn’t sending a car around for them for at least another ten minutes, so they had plenty of time to waste as they saw fit. Regardless, he still wanted the red-eyed birds attention off of the stupid wolf that had eaten up so much of the other man’s time and back on HIM so he could be smiled at like that and- “What?!” Steelbeak’s own train of thought startled him so badly that he nearly choked on his drink and he coughed a few times, having to hit himself on the chest to help clear the bubbly champagne from his windpipe._

_The bartender asked if Steelbeak was okay, but he waved the question off with a nod of his head and a flick of his hand after being handed a few napkins._

_Once he was cleaned up and the burning in his throat had ceased, Steelbeak stared down at his half-empty glass with a pensive expression on his face._

_Did he REALLY just think about wanting Domino to look at him the same way he did that loser beta-male of a wolf?_

_Sure, he found the flirting annoying. And sure, he wished the other bird would smile at him once in a while instead of just giving his same smirks or annoyed scowls. And sure, he found it a little irritating that the guy never even ONCE hit on him like the other poor saps he came across. Seriously, was he not good enough for him or something? He was good looking, charming, suave, well-dressed, had more than twice the brains of Domino’s usual choices, and knew him way better than those chumps did, anyway. If the darker bird should’ve been flirting with anyone, it should’ve been HIM._

_……_

** _Oh_ ** _._

_Oh **NO**._

_Nuh-uh. Nope. No way. No how. Not in a million years._

_There was absolutely NO WAY that Steelbeak- suave, good looking, intelligent, lady-killer and chief agent of F.O.W.L. **STEELBEAK**\- had the hots for moody, no-fun, Dominic “touch me and you’ll die” Domino._

_It was absolutely crazy!_

_Sure, they worked well together on missions and stuff, and Domino’s wit was something he enjoyed when it wasn’t used for picking him apart with insults, and he didn’t look half-bad when he actually SMILED now and then- but that was different from actually **liking** the guy, right?_

_…_

_Right?_

_……_

_..Someone please tell him he was right or he was seriously going to have a panic attack over this…_

_“Not a fan of peaches?” A distinctively deep voice suddenly asked him._

_“Wha-?!” Steelbeak nearly jumped out of his feathers from shock before turning around to see the very man he was just thinking about now standing behind him with his arms folded over his chest and a brow quirked at the rooster questioningly. “Do NOT sneak up on me like that!” The metal-mouthed fowl snapped at the red-eyed aquatic bird._

_“I wasn’t aware that I **could**.” Domino looked Steelbeak over with that piercing gaze that he could easily recognize- he was mentally picking apart the larger bird’s appearance and posture to figure out what was going on in his head. “Of course..I suppose you WERE a bit distracted.” He cast a poignant glance towards the several empty glasses lining the bar in front of Steelbeak before reclaiming his previous seat next to him. “Do you usually drink this much on a mission?”_

_Steelbeak rolled his eyes and pounded back his final drink (he made a mental promise not to go any further and risk embarrassing himself in front of his partner) of the evening. “What’s it to ya? Ain’t like **you** gotta pay.” He tried to prevent the slight slur from creeping too prominently into his speech- he had a pretty strong buzz by now, but he was still in control of his actions and wouldn’t stand for being teased by the sarcastic agent he had to call a partner._

_“I suppose I don’t.” As if to rub that fact in the other man’s face, Domino waved to the bartender. “Sweet sunrise- two cherries.” His tone was casual for the sake of appearances (he couldn’t go giving the “do what I want or you’ll be looking down the barrel of my gun” tone to civilians on an undercover assignment), but from his spot beside the loon Steelbeak could see the corner of his beak perked up in one of those condescending smirks to subtly confirm for him that, yes, this was his way of rubbing his success in the other man’s face._

_Steelbeak fought back the urge to scowl, as well as the growing urge to order another drink and drown out the annoying voice in the back of his head that told him he’d prefer to see the smile from earlier on that dark beak rather than its current smirk. Desperately needing SOME kind of distraction, he opted for being the bigger man (in a sense OTHER than literally, for a change), and giving credit where it was due. “Hate to admit it, Deedee, but that wasn’t too bad. The bit with the cherries was a bit much for **my** taste, but, hey, it’s not like that sorta thing would’ve worked on **me**.” Crud, why did he just bring himself into it? He needed to divert that part of the conversation before he could get called out for it! “How’d you know that’d work, anyway?”_

_“His file.” Domino nodded politely to the bartender after receiving his drink, offering only those two words in way of a less-than-satisfying explanation before partaking of his beverage._

_Okay, that part certainly got Steelbeak’s attention. “Did we get two different files for Mr.Married-multiple-times-and-all-to-gorgeous-dames, or did I miss somethin’?”_

_Domino removed the first cherry from the top of his drink and ate it, biting off the stem in a more straight-forward fashion than his earlier show (Steelbeak **refused** to feel disappointed about that). “Rich family that was religious only for the sake of acting like they were even better than everyone else, grew up in all-male-boarding schools most of his life, and five failed marriages in the past three years- all to famous women known for being considered extremely attractive, and not a single kid from ANY of those relationships.” He ran down the list of facts that had been stated in their target’s profile, but in a much more summarized way than the tedious list they’d both been forced to read through, before eating the second cherry from his drink. “Honestly..he may as well walk around with a sign over his head that says REPRESSED in big rainbow letters..” He paused for a minute, taking a long sip of his drink before saying one more statement and finishing his mocktail. “Also I winked at him when he came in and he blushed.”_

_“Geez..” Steelbeak really didn’t want to be impressed by the other bird’s analytical skills, but it was hard not to when he came to a conclusion like THAT just from a sheet of paper with a bullet-point list. “You got some kinda gay-radar built in your head, or what?”_

_“Oh, trust me..” Domino said while sliding his glass away, giving Steelbeak a brief once-over with those piercing red eyes that were really starting to do weird things to the fowl’s head AND his heart. “Denial’s pretty easy to spot if you know where to look.”_

_Steelbeak narrowed his eyes warningly at the darker bird. “You tryin’ t’ say somethin’ there, Dom?”_

_Domino shrugged calmly, not even so much as flinching from the harsh look. “Merely stating facts- if you choose to take them out of context, then that’s your problem.” He stood up unceremoniously and started making his way towards the front door. “Our ride should be here by now. Don’t keep me waiting or I’ll make them leave without you.”_

_Steelbeak scowled at the retreating bird’s back and fumbled with his wallet, knowing full well the loon didn’t make empty threats. “Yeah, yeah, keep your hat on, I’m comin’.” He didn’t feel up to counting out the exact amount for all of his drinks, so he opted instead for just slamming down a handful of cash on the bar-top. “Keep the change.” He said to the bartender on his way out- he honestly didn’t even care if he came up short, it’s not like they were going to come back there again._

_As he made his way out to the waiting car and underpaid driver, Steelbeak tried not to shudder. Tonight had led to way too many new realizations that he had NOT been prepared to deal with. He’d need some time to himself to think things over…_

Unfortunately, as it turned out, those thoughts only got worse once Steelbeak was alone. After spending the night thinking about it, he figured that maybe, just **_maybe_**, he might actually LIKE his moody partner as more than just a work-partner.

He’d never had any interest in guys before but, all things considered, it’s not like he’d had any genuine interest for the women he’d romanced before either. All he’d ever been after in the past when it came to relationships were shallow things for his own benefit- status from being seen with a cute babe (or a few cute ones) on his arm, information or money for work or for himself, and the occasional sating of some more **carnal** desires.

With Domino, however, things were _different_. Being seen with Domino wouldn’t do anything for his social status or image since they were already seen together pretty often. Domino didn’t have anything he wanted as far as information or money since they were partners and given the same amount of both within their jobs. And, for once in his life, a more **_physical_** relationship was the LAST thing on his mind- both because he didn’t want to risk losing any vital and sensitive organs and because..well..despite himself, he respected the guy too much to think about him like that…it just felt wrong to try and objectify the loon like he had so many of his previous conquests since this felt so much more REAL to him.

And that was what terrified the F.O.W.L. agent more than anything- the thought that these _feelings_ might actually be **_genuine_**.

This was turning into the first time for a lot of things with Steelbeak:

The first time he’d been interested in a man…

The first time he’d wanted more from a relationship than just a quick love ‘em and leave ‘em…

The first time he’d ever been interested in someone that he actually **_respected_**…

This was all just way too new for Steelbeak and he had absolutely NO idea what he was supposed to do. His usual approach to flirting probably wouldn’t work since Domino wasn’t some cheap floozy or desperately lonely bird (not meant in the literal sense) looking for attention, and Steelbeak wasn’t the kind to just start waxing poetic or gushing about his stupid **_feelings_**. Yuck.

He figured actions spoke louder than words, so gifts seemed like the right way to go. Flowers and chocolates seemed way too plain and schmaltzy, though, so he figured ‘Hey, go big or go home’, and started buying up whatever classy high-dollar items caught his eye- casting a wide net with a large array of gifts and tokens with the hopes that at least ONE item would pique the loon’s interest.

So far, though, nothing had worked. If anything, it seemed like his partner was just getting more and more irritated with him every time he tried something.

“Fine mess ya got yourself in this time, ain’t it?” Steelbeak asked himself bitterly while tipping his head back to drain the remnants of his glass. He went to refill it afterwards, but found that the bottle was completely empty now- apparently his reminiscing had driven him to down six glasses of wine without even noticing. “Perfect…” Setting the empty vessels down on his coffee table with an annoyed sigh of frustration, Steelbeak figured he wasn’t really hungry anymore and trudged his way over to the kitchen. “Whatever..” He muttered while pulling out a large reheatable container. “Least I’ll have a good lunch tomorrow…make some poor loser jealous…”

Yes, this was a fine mess indeed that he’d gotten himself into…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Steelbeak- it’s always confusing the first time you question your romantic preferences x3 Next part goes back to Domino and gets some more interactions between the deadly duo.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domino is stuck at F.O.W.L. HQ all day for meetings. Which wouldn’t be so bad if someone hadn’t swiped his lunch… Well, at least Steelbeak’s there to keep him company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to death and murder in this one, but it’s just an every day conversation as far as these two are concerned.

For Dominic, the next day at work held one of the events that he dreaded all year long:

_Review day_.

Normally, the work he did, with or without his partner, revolved around covert operations, deadly assignments, espionage, toppling governments- the exciting stuff that was normally blown out of proportion in spy movies for the sake of funding the special effects industry.

Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days.

_Review day_ was a generally loathed mark on the calendar of every F.O.W.L. operative from the eggmen to the chief officers (he seriously believed that even high command themselves hated the day). While most days the agents would be free to go about their day to day lives until called in for a mission, _review day_ required all agents to stick around the designated F.O.W.L. headquarters for their district while high command called different agents in and out of the meeting room to review their previous missions of the year and possible new ones that may be on the horizon. What made the day even more loathsome and tooth-grindingly boring was the fact that it was an all-day affair and no one was allowed to leave until it was over. Which usually took at least eight to ten hours…**minimum**.

As an experienced agent who’d sat through his fair share of _review day_s, Dominic had come prepared for the tedium the day would entail. He’d brought plenty of reading material ranging from his favorite books to whatever magazines he had lying around, his own thermos to refill with coffee from the break room when he had trouble staying awake, and a large pre-packaged meal for when he was eventually given a long enough break between meetings and planning sessions to actually eat.

Luckily for him, now happened to be such a time and he was starving after sitting through six straight hours in the meeting room.

When he opened the door to the special agents’ designated break room (having a break room separate from the eggmen masses was the first thing he’d been grateful for after officially becoming a higher-ranking agent), he was relieved to see that the room was nearly empty. The relief died slightly, however, when he realized that the ‘nearly’ part was because his partner was also in the breakroom.

Steelbeak was apparently on his own break, currently leaning against the counter that housed both the microwave and the coffeepot. He hadn’t reacted to Domino’s entrance yet, apparently lost in his own thoughts while waiting for the seconds on the microwave count down. The rooster seemed to be doing that a lot lately- getting lost in his own thoughts when no one else was around to call him out on it.

Dominic would have been happy to leave the chief officer to his thoughts, but, unfortunately, he would have to get by him to reach the fridge where he’d left his own food…and with the way Steelbeak was leaning with his back to the counter, his legs and torso were blocking the quickest path to his destination. He could’ve just vaulted over the nearby table and tumbled onto the couch to avoid talking to him, but that was honestly more work than he was in the mood for just to save himself three steps.

So, resigned to his fate, Dominic set his small suitcase (which he was just using to carry around his books and magazines in a more orderly fashion) on the table then walked up to Steelbeak and cleared his throat once. “Ahem.”

“?!” The simple sound was enough to jolt the taller bird from his thoughts and make him look down at Dominic. “Oh, it’s just you..” Apparently guessing what the loon wanted, Steelbeak stood up straighter and took a step back so his hip was against the counter instead of his lower back, giving his partner plenty of room to walk past without bumping into him.

“No need to sound so disappointed about it.” Dominic commented on his way to the refrigerator. He opened his thermos and left it on the counter beside him to refill on his way back to the table before opening the fridge.

“Hey, I’ve been stuck sitting at a table being bored out of my skull for almost seven hours and could use some company that’s actually entertaining for a change- sue me.” Steelbeak finished his comeback right as the coffee finished brewing and took the filled pot off of the machinery to fill his own thermos (he’d been through enough of these days to come prepared as well, it seemed). “You can’t tell me you ain’t bored of this shtick, too- even **_you_** can’t be THAT uptight.”

Dominic rolled his eyes and spared the fowl a side-eyed look of annoyance before he began searching the cold shelves for his meal. “Of course I’m bored. Anyone who says they actually enjoy this sort of thing is either an office worker or an undercover S.H.U.S.H. agent..either of which deserve to be shot on sight.”

The taller bird gave that distinctive clipped nasally-laugh of his while filling up his thermos with the piping hot coffee. “Whattaya know? You DO have a sense of humor in there.”

“Who said I was joking?” Dominic asked with a tone full of sarcasm, hiding the smile on his beak thanks to the fridge door beside him. Hearing the sound of more coffee being poured, Dominic peeked back out and saw Steelbeak filling his thermos for him. That was…surprisingly thoughtful of the selfish bird. “…Thanks.”

“Eh, I was doin’ it anyway.” Steelbeak said casually while putting the pot back for whoever wanted the next cup. He then grabbed a handful of the various packets of sugars and creams from their cardboard containers along the back of the counter and, without even asking, he set aside the exact type and number of packets that Dominic would have grabbed himself.

“You know how I take my coffee..?” The loon asked with a quirked brow, feeling…well, impressed, honestly. Being able to sneak into his apartment and leave him a high-dollar present was one thing- a very flashy, unwelcomed thing that felt entirely superficial- but to know something small like how he took his coffee seemed somehow much more personal.

Shrugging as he grabbed a coffee stirrer and began mixing in his own cream and sugar, Steelbeak’s tone remained casual. “Little trick I picked up after workin’ with my first partner.”

“Really?” That was certainly news to Dominic- the two never really talked about their previous partners.

The information was available in their files, and he’d briefly skimmed over Steelbeak’s before being assigned to him, but the other agent wasn’t very forthcoming with information unless he felt it necessary. Not to say that HE was any better himself, but he was pretty sure Steelbeak already knew about what happened with his previous partner and why he was moved to his current sector. Admittedly, he was grateful that Steelbeak never attempted to pry into his past or dig up old wounds, even when the two of them had a disagreement on something, and he’d attempted to show the same level of professional courtesy.

Still, it was interesting to hear Steelbeak bring up one of his previous partners so casually-

“Yeah, I poisoned his.” He replied just as casually as if they were discussing the weather. Which, to a F.O.W.L. agent, was actually a pretty common thing to discuss, but, still, WOW, that came out of NOWHERE.

“That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence…” Dominic muttered while briefly eyeing the coffee sitting in his thermos.

Steelbeak rolled his eyes and blew on his own coffee “He was a mole for S.H.U.S.H.” He paused to take a sip before continuing. “The geezer was a senior agent that was supposed t’ be showin’ me the ropes- used to make me do the rookie stuff like fetchin’ the coffee and puttin’ away his paperwork. Thing is, he didn’t count on me overhearin’ a VERY interestin’ conversation between him and his handler in S.H.U.S.H.” A smirk briefly turned up the corners of his mouth around the metallic beak, the deadly steel catching the light and giving him a more menacing look that fit his next words perfectly. “He also didn’t count on me puttin’ arsenic in his coffee instead of almond milk…his mistake.”

Dominic nodded, a brief scowl turning down the corners of his own beak. He knew all about the damage an infiltrator from S.H.U.S.H. could cause… “He got what he deserved, then.”

Steelbeak gave a short chuckle and set his thermos aside when the microwave finally finished. “Exactly. So, long as you don’t go turn-coat on me, you ain’t got nothin’ t’ worry about.” He spared Domino a look with a cocked brow while pulling a large container of food out of the microwave. “You lookin’ t’ help fight global warmin’ there, Deedee?”

“Hm? Oh..” A slight chill along his feet made the rooster’s words sink in and Dominic realized he’d been standing there with the refrigerator door open the whole time. “No, that would be pretty pointless since half of the world doesn’t even believe in it yet.” After searching the shelves for a moment and, begrudgingly, moving a few containers and bags around to make sure he wasn’t missing anything, a frustrated expression replaced his previously confused look. “Has anyone else been in here today?”

Steelbeak popped the lid off of his meal’s container while thinking the question over. “Ammonia and Ample were leavin’ when I got here…well, Ammonia was leavin’- Ample was gettin’ dragged along and complainin’ about not gettin’ t’ eat yet.”

“Was she holding anything when she left?” Dominic pinched the bridge of his beak in frustration and closed his eyes, already anticipating the answer and dreading its validation.

“White box with a red lid.” Steelbeak looked at the loon’s frustrated expression and smirked a little. “I’m guessin’ that was yours?”

“It’s HERS now.” Dominic corrected while finally slamming the refrigerator door closed. Even if he was hungry, if something had been in Ample’s hands, he did NOT want it back. **Ever**. “Guess I’m getting takeout..” He said under his breath, taking the opportunity to properly prepare his own coffee now before attempting to walk out.

He was barely three steps from the door when Steelbeak’s voice stopped him. “I would NOT recommend that today.”

“And why would that be?” It was hard for Dominic to keep the aggravation at his increasingly aggravating situation out of his voice as he turned back to look at his partner for an explanation.

“Megavolt and Darkwing Do-gooder had a fight at the city’s traffic control hub.” Steelbeak provided the explanation, calm even with the loon’s glaring red eyes pointed at him. “Lights all over the city are fried and traffic’s backed up for miles. So, ‘less you know any good places within walkin’ distance or can find a place that delivers to evil secret agencies, forget about it.”

“Great.” Dominic scowled and took a seat at the table. “Guess I’m drinking my lunch today…” He opened his suitcase and pulled out the book he’d been reading earlier, ignoring the shuffling sounds of whatever Steelbeak was doing at the counter. He was just finding the line he’d left off on when the other bird took a seat at the table and, to his surprise, slid something over to him. “…?” Dominic moved his book enough to see a paper plate piled high with a rather sizable helping of steaming-hot roasted vegetables and potatoes as well as half of what must have at one point been a sixteen ounce, inch and a half thick New York strip steak topped with sautéed mushrooms- there was even a napkin set off to the side with some cutlery. Looking over to his partner, Dominic saw that Steelbeak had a plate that practically mirrored his own and was already eating his share of vegetables. “I didn’t ask for this.” Dominic said while trying to slide the plate back towards the fowl.

Steelbeak nudged it back over to him with the blunt end of his knife. “Eat it. I packed way too much, anyway.” He paused to take a drink from his thermos. “Besides, if F.O.W.L. high command decides t’ send us on a mission tonight, I don’t need you passin’ out from low blood sugar or somethin’.”

“I’ve gone days without food before- I think I can survive a few hours.” Dominic countered, refusing to look at the plate in front of him and instead fixing the other bird with a mildly offended glare.

Steelbeak shrugged, once again not even remotely bothered by the harsh look sent his way. “Hey, do what ya want, I don’t care- it was just gonna go in the garbage, either way.”

Dominic glared quietly at the larger bird for a few more seconds, but gave up when he realized it really had no effect on the incorrigible fowl. He still tried to ignore the food in front of him, but catching a brief waft of the tantalizing aroma made his stomach growl.

Darn it, that did smell REALLY good…

…

……

…Well, if it was just going to be thrown out, anyway……

Snapping his book closed, Dominic set it aside and reluctantly pulled the plate closer. He cut the food into smaller bites than what Steelbeak himself was shoving into his mouth and began to eat. To his surprise, the food tasted absolutely **_incredible_**, despite going through the microwave. Everything was perfectly seasoned, none of the vegetables or potatoes had gotten too soft, and even the steak retained a healthy amount of tenderness and was still fairly pink in the middle, suggesting that it must have been extremely rare before to retain so much juice after being reheated like that.

“This is pretty good.” Dominic conceded after the first few bites, looking across the table at his partner. “Where did you get this?”

“Oh, y’know, just a little hole-in-the-wall joint called ‘my kitchen’.” The taller man replied with that smug grin of his.

“What?” That actually surprised Dominic, making him blink twice in an attempt to dispel the disbelief he felt at the idea of the other agent actually COOKING something. “**_You_** can cook?”

“Hey, what’s with the look?” Steelbeak’s smug grin changed to an overly-dramatic affronted expression. “You think a body THIS good-lookin’ comes from eatin’ take-out and TV dinners every night?” He flexed one arm to help illustrate his point.

“I suppose not..” Dominic glanced to the flexed arm before meeting his partner’s gaze again. “You just don’t strike me as the type to cook your own meals. I would’ve assumed you had someone else cook for you; either that or you had some five-star restaurant delivering to you directly- you could definitely afford both options.”

Steelbeak shrugged and sliced up the last few bites of his steak into more manageable pieces. “I could, but I don’t. I don’t mind cookin’ for myself, so why bother payin’ someone else t’ do it unless I’m just NOT in the mood? And if I ordered food from some fancy joint all the time, I’d get bored of it eventually, even if it was better than Hamburger Hippo.”

“Hmh, that makes sense.” The loon conceded with a nod after taking a bite of the steak as well. “For what it’s worth..” He began after he’d finished his bite and before he started on another. “You could probably give quite a few of those ‘fancy joints’ a run for their money.”

Steelbeak gave that distinctive chuckle of his and looked at Dominic with an expression somewhere between a smirk and a smile. “Are my ears playin’ tricks on me, or did I actually just hear a gen-u-i-ne compliment come out of that big beak?”

Dominic rolled his eyes, but it was hard not to smile at least a little bit as well. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late for that.” The other agent chuckled again. A comfortable silence settled between the pair as they ate, the two going several minutes without saying anything else before Steelbeak opened his beak again. “Y’know…you could pop over for dinner sometime…guarantee I won’t charge as much as some of those swankier places uptown.”

Dominic almost said no on reflex. He wasn’t normally a fan of going to other people’s homes for dinner. Disorganized spaces were not something he was fond of, and neither was the small talk that seemed inevitable when visiting someone’s home. Combine that with the much more lax health standards in most home-kitchens compared to professional restaurants and you had three major reasons for him NOT to go.

What stopped him, however, was looking back up at his partner’s face.

The normally over-confident and arrogant rooster was keeping his eyes on his plate rather than meeting Dominic’s gaze. He wasn’t giving him one of those usual smirks or that trying-too-hard-to-be-cool look like when he gave his unwarranted gifts. On top of it all, he’d been chewing the same bite of food well past the time it should’ve been finished- a classic stalling tactic when one wanted to avoid saying what they’d mentally dubbed “the wrong thing”. This was different behavior then what he was used to with the cocky fowl.

But, all things considered, Dominic found that he preferred this genuine and sincere version of the bird far more than the façade he’d been wearing for the past six weeks every time he tried giving him a gift. Besides, it’s not like Steelbeak’s home was more than a few feet away from his own- if he felt uncomfortable, he could always just LEAVE.

“Sure.” He finally answered after resolving his internal conflict on the matter. “But no finger foods.”

Steelbeak swallowed the long-finished lump of food and the corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile that Dominic caught before the chief officer schooled his face into its usual smug smirk. “Fine, no chili dogs or cheese fries.”

They both shared a brief laugh over the idea of Dominic so much as touching such messy excuses for cuisine, the loon’s laugh much quieter compared to the large rooster’s but no less real.

After that, they went back and forth between different conversational topics and comfortable silences in equal periods. This was much better than the tension that had existed between them since the beginning of their partnership, and it was something Dominic preferred hands-down to the shift they’d gone through over the past few weeks.

He wasn’t a fool, he knew what the change in their dynamic was about and what had caused it. He knew the reason why Steelbeak kept trying to shower him with things that he’d never asked for, and he knew that it was related to why the other bird had asked him over for dinner.

Despite what Steelbeak himself might think, Dominic wasn’t completely against the idea or the notion behind the presents, it was merely the method he’d employed in trying to garner the loon’s favor that he disapproved of. Gifts were fine with him- his previous partner had given him plenty over the course of their relationship that he still held onto. The big difference, though, was the thought that was put into them: What his last partner lacked in over-the-top expensive taste, he made up for by showing how well he knew the bird, often getting him things that he knew Dominic would enjoy such as a book from a series he liked (even though half the time he got him one he’d already read), and it would always make him smile because it showed just how much the other man cared. Steelbeak’s gifts, on the other hand, while classy and definitely venturing into the territory of things that Dominic hadn’t thought to buy for himself, felt more like they were purchased simply for the sake of showing off and looking flashy- they could’ve been bought for anyone, not exclusively him.

Steelbeak’s behavior today, however, was a step in the right direction. Little things such as showing how well he’d come to know Dominic and making an effort to approach him in a more sincere and less over-the-top way were preferable to the materialistic method of essentially trying to buy his attention.

If the rooster continued acting like THIS, maybe Dominic could actually give him a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some heart-warming interaction between our main characters before things get crazy next chapter. This was the calm before the storm- you have been warned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being cooped up in meetings all day, Steelbeak and Domino take advantage of a mission together to stretch their legs…and kill a bunch of S.H.U.S.H. agents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, there is a lot of shooting, blowing up, and savagely beating up people in this chapter. More brutal than a standard DWD episode, but right up there with most spy movies.

Stuck on a mission after **THIRTEEN** friggin’ hours. Steelbeak seriously wished he’d bet money on them having to work after _review day_ was over- he really called it.

The chief officer and his partner were currently raiding a minor S.H.U.S.H. base that had sprouted up too close to their own territory for comfort. It was cleverly disguised as a mid-grade bar that had undergone recent renovations after changing management and ownership. To everyday citizens this would be a good cover- but not for F.O.W.L.’s comprehensive information network. They’d discovered that pretty much all of the staff had slowly been replaced by S.H.U.S.H. agents over the past few months since the bar’s “re-opening”, and, going in at the end of the night, the only ones left there would be the S.H.U.S.H. staff and the few plain-clothed agents pretending to be last-call drunkards until the bar closed. High command wanted the facility annihilated as a warning to S.H.U.S.H., and chose to leave the method of doing so at the discretion of their top agents.

That meant they could either be stealthy about it and sneak in through the back to take their enemies out one at a time…or they could do it in a much more _satisfying_ way.

Arriving at the bar in Steelbeak’s flashy gold-painted Lincoln Continental (a mark iii edition with upgraded internals and a white leather interior, of course- had to pay respects to the godfathers of organized crime, after all), the two figured, with how bored they’d been all day, that they might as well go in with guns blazing.

**Literally**.

At a nod from Domino once they were at the entrance, Steelbeak opened the door and sauntered in, dragging something heavy on the floor beside him. “Hey, did we miss last call? Don’t worry, we heard it was B.Y.O.B., so we brought our own shots!” And with that line delivered to the confused and stunned agents around them, Steelbeak picked up the heavy object he’d dragged in to reveal an m134 minigun. He opened fire in a sweeping motion, starting at the left side of the bar and slowly moving the barrage of bullets around to the right. Steelbeak kept firing until the large gun was out of bullets, tossing it aside once the first wave of devastation had been brought down on the bar.

Half of the enemy agents were dead before they even had a chance to blink. Another quarter of them were severely injured. The rest that had managed to duck behind the tables and bar in time were scrambling to get their own weapons ready.

Unfortunately for the remaining agents, it was Domino’s turn once Steelbeak was done with the initial attack. “It’s a little cold in here.” He commented before pointing one of his usual guns at the bar. “Let’s turn up the heat.” He pulled the trigger and, instead of bullets coming out like the agents behind the bar likely expected, burning hot flames erupted from the barrel of the gun and shot out towards the broken liquor bottles lining the wall.

The area around the bar was engulfed in the agonizing heat of alcohol fueled fire within seconds, the agents who had been taking cover behind and beside it running away as they tried to put themselves out. For many of them, it was already too late and they were left to burn away in the torrent of flames. Those who’d managed to get away with less severe burns were left laying prone on the ground from the pain they were in.

The remaining agents that had survived the first assault had finally drawn their guns and were attempting to fire back at the duo as they made their way further into the building. However, Steelbeak and Domino knew what to expect and promptly shoved over one of the less damaged tables nearby and dove behind it for cover.

As the barrage of bullets chipped away at the hard-wood table, Domino focused on reloading his pistol with a new clip of ammo and pulling out its counterpart in preparation for the next phase of the assault. Not one to be out-paced by his partner, Steelbeak reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of grenades.

“Whattaya think, Deedee?” He asked with a smirk when the doors to the kitchen burst open on the other side of the room with reinforcements pouring in. “Too much?” He held up the two grenades in indication before pulling out two more. “Or not enough?”

Domino peeked over the edge of the table before looking at the grenades. “I’d say you’re still coming up short.” He began giving them cover fire with one gun using regular lead bullets and the other using electric rounds to incapacitate any of the more challenging targets.

“Well, in THAT case-” Steelbeak opened up his jacket to reveal a larger arsenal of explosives ranging from grenades to flashbangs to C4 as well as a decent variety of handguns. “Guess I’d better go big or go home.” He pulled the pins from the grenades in his hands one at a time and began tossing them across the room, causing loud explosions as well as screams from the S.H.U.S.H. agents that got caught in the blasts.

Once those were used up, Steelbeak switched over to a flash bang, waiting for half a second to make sure Domino saw the bright explosive and had ducked back behind the table to avoid the ensuing blindness that would occur before activating and lobbing it across the room. Even from behind the barrier of the table, the light was painful to see- but the pained screams of their enemies suggested that it was considerably worse from their angle, which worked out well for the F.O.W.L. agents.

The rain of bullets from the other side of the table ceased for a moment as their opponents tried to regain their vision rather than shooting blindly at the risk of causing further injury to their own comrades. That was one of the downfalls of being a “good guy”: When your moral compass and level of compassion is that high, you hold back to avoid hurting “innocent” people. When you’re a bad guy, you don’t care- you just keep going until the opposition is annihilated.

A perfect case-in-point of this would be Domino & Steelbeak and their current assault entering its next wave.

Domino reloaded his guns during the confusion and Steelbeak switched over to a long-barreled Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. The two soon emerged from behind the table and advanced further into the building, shooting down anyone remaining in the main room before they could regain their sight.

Reaching the doors to the kitchen, Domino looked up at Steelbeak with the corner of his beak turned up in a half-smirk. “It would be rude not to knock first.”

“Oh, _please_, allow me.” Steelbeak replied in a sarcastically over-polite tone. He grabbed another grenade and pulled the pin before opening the door just a crack to toss it in. There was a pause, an explosion, but no screaming. “Guess no one’s home.” He opened the door and walked in to take a look around, disappointed and a little aggravated to find that the kitchen was empty and a trap door on the floor inside was currently open. Partly to make sure no one was still waiting down there, and partly for his own sick amusement, Steelbeak tossed a grenade down the hole to see what would happen- he was bitterly disappointed when he didn’t hear any screams in return. “Guess they decided t’ jet, eh, Dom?” He didn’t receive an answer right away, prompting him to turn his head and check the doorway. “Domino?” Warning bells went off in his head when he noticed the loon’s absence at the kitchen doors. “That can’t be good..”

After reloading his gun for good measure, Steelbeak peeked out through the windows on the kitchen doors. Through the glass he could see a large group of S.H.U.S.H. agents in the bar, the group walking around to survey the damage with mixed expressions of shock, anger, and sadness at the sight of their dead fellow-agents. Most of them were carrying standard grade handguns, though one of them had what looked like a modified sniper rifle. That one in particular seemed the angriest about seeing the faces of his dead comrades.

Speaking of comrades, Steelbeak spotted his own lying unconscious a couple of feet away from the door with a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his neck (likely from that modified rifle, and why neither of them heard a shot being fired). It was a small one, likely enough to keep most men down for a few hours, but, knowing Domino and how often he’d been around poisonous substances while dealing with his own ammunition, he’d probably be up fairly soon.

Before he had a chance to open the door and drag his partner inside with him, the agent with the rifle, a large pit bull in a suit, started barking orders at the other agents- one of them apparently being to grab Domino. In doing so, the enemy agents spotted Steelbeak at the window and pointed their guns at it in warning. The one who’d been sent to grab Domino did so quickly and held him at gun point in warning to Steelbeak.

“Come out of there!” The pit bull with the rifle shouted at the door. “And don’t try anything or we’ll blow your ally’s head off!”

Steelbeak rolled his eyes at the classic tactic. So cliché. Still, Domino would be up sooner than those losers thought and it would be best for everyone involved if they put him down before he realized what was going on. “Alright, alright, I’m comin’ out.” He said loud enough to be heard. Taking a minute to holster and hide his gun and close his jacket again to hide his remaining weapons from plain sight, Steelbeak stepped out of the kitchen with his hands raised to show he was unarmed (for the moment, at least).

The pit bull glared at the rooster with a growl. “Steelbeak! I should’ve known this was your handiwork!”

Steelbeak shrugged calmly, cool under pressure even with at least thirty armed goons pointing their guns right at him with plenty of motivation to kill him on the spot. “What can I say? I hate gettin’ my hands dirty, but I LOVE puttin’ you S.H.U.S.H. suckers through the wringer.” His eyes shifted over to where Domino was still being held at gunpoint as a warning- thankfully the loon was still unconscious. “Say, Fido, you mind gettin’ your boy there to drop my partner? He don’t exactly like t’ be TOUCHED…”

“Your partner?” The dog sneered at him. “As if someone could actually tolerate working with a psychopathic egomaniac like **_you_**.”

“If he were awake, he’d probably agree with ya.” Steelbeak kept his eyes on Domino, looking for any signs that his breathing was changing. “Seriously, though, put ‘im down or everyone in this room’s gonna be sleepin’ in a pine box tonight..” He tried not to let on how nervous he was starting to feel when he spotted one of Domino’s fingers twitch. Crap, he was running out of time-

“You’re hardly in the position to make threats, F.O.W.L. scum.” The pit bull held up two fingers, a couple of his agents moving closer to Steelbeak to make sure he wasn’t about to try anything.

“More like a warnin’ because **_I_** don’t wanna get caught in the crossfire..” Despite the immediate minor threats around him, Steelbeak kept his eyes glued to the major one brewing elsewhere- a slight muscle spasm by Domino’s eyes that time. This was gonna be bad… “Look, you can tie ‘im to a chair or somethin’- heck, you can even keep a gun t’ his head for all I care! But you do NOT wanna see what happens when someone touches him.”

The pit bull rolled his eyes. “Oh, please..” He hoisted the rifle up to rest on his shoulder. “This is S.H.U.S.H.’s newest top-of-the-line incapacitating rifle. The special tranquilizers it fires could keep a full grown elephant out of commission for at least eight hours. I doubt some loon would-” He was stopped by the sound of bones snapping and a pained scream tearing through the air. “?!!” The pit bull and his cronies turned to where the other agent had been holding Domino, every single one of them shocked to see the dark-feathered bird not only free of the hold he’d been in mere seconds ago, but currently pinning the agent that had held him against the ground with a knee bearing down painfully on his spine and his arm being pulled backwards to break and dislocate it. “Wha-?!” The pit bull sputtered for a moment, confused and clearly out of his element now. “That’s impossible! H-He should be asleep for at least a few more hours!” Another pained cry from the agent below the loon snapped him out of his stupor and caused the leader of the pack to look at his cronies. “Don’t just stand there, you idiots! Get him off of him!!”

Steelbeak groaned in annoyance when, instead of trying to shoot Domino off of the agent he was now beating to within an inch of his life, the appropriately titled “idiots” tried to grab Domino by the arms and pull him off of their comrade. “Didn’t you hear me when I **clearly** said ‘do NOT touch him’?” No sooner was the question out of his beak than the wave of carnage (and karma, really) began.

The two larger agents that grabbed Domino by his arms were the first to go once they’d pulled him to his feet, surprised when the smaller man suddenly used their grip against them to swing himself back slightly, kick them each in the back of the knee closest to him, and then swing forward again- the resulting momentum toppling them onto the ground. Once they hit the floor Domino tore his left arm free, ignoring the way his coat’s sleeve tore a bit in the process, and rolled to the right so that he could begin punching the poor fool still holding his other arm repeatedly in the face until he fell unconscious and let go of the agitated F.O.W.L. agent’s limb. With the first man down, Domino dove at the other one, delivering a sharp elbow right into the already downed man’s diaphragm before grabbing him by the top of his head and slamming his skull into the ground a few times.

The rest of the group apparently didn’t learn their lesson, deciding the best course of action would be to tackle him all at once. Seriously, Steelbeak wondered, was there any sort of testing for basic intelligence or survival instinct required to become a S.H.U.S.H. agent, or did you just have to sign a waiver saying you weren’t gonna sue them if you were killed or maimed in combat before they handed you your badge & gun?

While the rest of his enemies were focused on Domino and making sure he stayed down (he wouldn’t, no matter how many of them piled on top of him), Steelbeak took advantage of the chaos and drew his revolver again. The pit bull had his back to the rooster at the moment, keeping his rifle aimed at the cluster that had surrounded Domino to look for a clear shot if it presented itself.

Unfortunately for him, he never got the chance to take said shot as he suddenly had the rifle knocked out of his hands and the still warm barrel of a gun pressed to the side of his head. “?!” He yelped when one of his arms was drawn back in a bruising grip, glancing back to see the rooster looming behind him. “You-!”

“I’m done playin’ games with ya.” Steelbeak said coldly, pulling back the hammer of his gun in warning. “Now, either call off your boys so they can all die nice an’ quick..or let ‘em keep dealin’ with my partner- your call.”

Before the dog could make his decision, several of the agents who’d been piled on top of Domino were suddenly thrown off of him violently. To the surprise of everyone involved, including Steelbeak himself, the darker bird stood to his feet despite the men and women still trying to weigh him down.

A low, bone chilling voice cut through the air like a knife. “Don’t…touch…me….!” The words had the slightest drag to them before clipping slightly at the end, hinting at both possible intoxication as well as a deep, burning rage that was about to explode.

And explode, it did.

With a loud yell, the chaos from before began to look like a playful scuffle. Dark fists punched the lights out of whoever they struck first. More bodies were sent flying. Bones were being broken and blood was being spilt in large quantities. The black and white coat ended up getting torn and stained red in several places over the course of the fight, but its wearer seemed too far gone to care.

By the time Domino had cleared away enough of the goons around him to turn in Steelbeak’s general direction, the chief officer was beginning to feel nervous. “Deedee..?”

“……” There was something wrong with him. He didn’t respond to Steelbeak’s usual nickname at all. Then there was the matter of his eyes…there was just something **_off_** about them.

“Domino?” He tried to get his partner’s attention again, but it still seemed ineffective. When he started slowly advancing on them, Steelbeak felt a chill race down his spine. “!!” Steelbeak got lucky and a pair of agents intercepted Domino, becoming the new target of his hostility as he proceeded to beat them soundly just like their fallen friends. Looking between his partner, the growing number of bodies around them, the remaining S.H.U.S.H. agents still trying to take the loon down, the leader in his grip, and the gun in his other hand, Steelbeak finally let out a long sigh. “This is **NOT** gonna be pretty..” He said while raising his gun, already dreading what he would have to do…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warned you guys that there would be blood. There’s still a bit more that needs to be shed, though…
> 
> Also, fun little fact, Steelbeak’s car and gun are both based off of classic mobster paraphernalia. His car was one often driven by mob bosses, and I modeled his gun after the one used by Al Capone ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domino wakes up after his little “outburst” and looks for his partner. And then tries to figure out why said partner’s lying face down on the floor…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more blood and death in this chapter, but not as much as the last one.

Dominic stood in the middle of the bar, panting heavily as he finally began to register the finer details around him again. Blurred colors and hazy blobs began to focus into broken tables and dead or nearly dead bodies at his feet. One hand was still clenched in a fist while the other gripped one of his guns, his entire body tense and sore and positively exhausted from the flurry of movement he’d been in since he woke up.

Looking down at his hands, he made a disgusted and annoyed expression at the sight of the red liquid staining his feathers. He could feel similar stains and smears on other parts of his body and already knew he would need a LONG shower when he got home tonight.

Looking past his hands to his attire, he was even more displeased to see the current state of his clothes. The soot, dirt, and bloodstains were unpleasant, but he was used to dealing with those due to his line of work. The far more irritating part was the condition his coat was in- it was practically in tatters. Taking it off to examine it properly, he found that one sleeve was barely hanging on by a thread, one of his iconic dominos had been snapped off and the other was chipped, the buckle was bent, and there was a knife still stabbed through the bottom of it alongside some rather nasty gashes.

Well, wasn’t that just **great**? Steelbeak would probably make some paltry joke about how sloppy he got when he fought or something.

Wait..

Where was the loud-mouthed fowl?

Dominic looked around the bar for any sign of his partner. The last time he’d seen him, he’d gone into the kitchen to investigate an opened trap door when Dominic had felt something stab him in the neck and everything went black before he had a chance to warn the other bird. When he started to wake up, the only thing he registered was someone **_touching_** him. He shuddered briefly at the all-too-fresh memory of it, as well as the memory of others trying to do the same. Everything after that for a while was a blind drug-influenced and rage-induced blur of fury and adrenaline as he destroyed anything he came in contact with. Whatever he’d been shot with was long gone from his system now thanks to how quickly his blood had been pumping, and his earlier anger had cooled now that he was alone-

He froze when he saw something among the piles of bodies strewn about the room.

It couldn’t be…

Dominic’s coat fell to the floor, forgotten as he walked over to make sure what he saw was real and not just a trick of the light. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of an all-too familiar figure lying face down on the ground beneath the body of a pit bull.

After pulling the other body aside by the back of its coat, his fears were confirmed. There was no mistaking that combination:

Light feathers on the body with green tail feathers and a large red comb.

A designer suit with custom fitted shoes.

And a normally pristine white jacket…currently soaked with blood that was distinctly darker in three particular spots along his back.

Even without seeing the prosthetic that was his namesake, there was no mistaking it- this was **_Steelbeak_**.

The longer that Dominic stared, the more he felt a horrible, creeping sense of nostalgia consuming him. His mind kept flashing back and forth between the current bar he was standing in and a cold F.O.W.L. headquarters up north. Instead of the bodies of his enemies surrounding him, they were his fellow officers and his eggmen.

Then, for the briefest of moments, the body in front of him with deep pools of blood in his back was that of an overly affectionate but loving dog with dark fur and a bright smile instead of an arrogant but clever rooster with off-white feathers and a smug smirk.

He remembered the time he’d spent after his last partner’s death, isolated and alone with his grief for three days before being dragged back into the line of duty by high command. The hassle of relocating, moving miles away from his past and the life he’d built with his former partner. The uneasy introductions that ruffled both birds’ feathers despite how well they ended up working together-

Dominic shook his head to chase away his spiraling thoughts. He’d have to call F.O.W.L. high command, tell them what happened………wait, what DID happen?

Steelbeak had been in the kitchen before Dominic blacked out, why had he left? Had he come out to grab him or was he forced out by the enemy? Was he in the room during Dominic’s blind fit of rage? He would’ve known to stay away, but-

A dark thought crept into the loon’s mind when he caught the gleam of the over-head lights off of the pistol still clutched in his hand:

Was…Was **_he_** the one who shot Steelbeak…?

His hands shook as he scrambled to check his gun. It was loaded with the lead bullets, but how many had he fired? Had he reloaded during the fight? Darn it, he couldn’t remember, everything was too blurry! It was bad enough losing another partner he cared about, but to think that he may have been the one responsible for it was-

Movement.

It was subtle, almost imperceptible to the untrained eye, but Dominic’s eyes were **very** well-trained after years of sharp-shooting, and he KNEW he saw the other bird’s back move just now.

“Steelbeak…?” He questioned, having to swallow down the lump that had caught in his throat just to get the simple word out properly.

“Hm..?” There was a grunted reply before the other man’s head turned slightly to glance at him with one eye. “Dom?” Seeing his partner stare down at him, Steelbeak, much to Domino’s combined relief and surprise, began to sit up with no more difficulty than popping a few stiff joints once he was seated upright on the stained hard-wood floor. “About time you woke up. Done blowin’ your stack there, short fuse?”

“You’re…You’re alive…?” Dominic was relieved by this revelation, of course, but his mind was also still caught in its natural state of cautious disbelief.

“Gee, don’t sound so happy about it or I might start cryin’ over here.” Steelbeak rolled his eyes, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he began to unbutton and remove his jacket.

Once it was off, Dominic could see that the blood stains were deep, having thoroughly soaked through the white material, but there were no notable holes in the fabric. “So..the blood isn’t yours?” He assumed, looking to the dead pit bull he’d pulled off of his partner’s body earlier to see three deep wounds on its own back that, now that he was calm enough to think about it, lined up perfectly with the spots on Steelbeak’s coat from when it had been on top of him.

“Nah, I ain’t that sloppy.” Steelbeak stood up, his red shirt not showing the bloodstains as noticeably as his coat had. “You started hittin’, so I hit the deck- figured playin’ dead would be the safest bet ‘til ya calmed down.”

Dominic fought back the smile that threatened to turn up the corner of his beak. “Not a bad idea.” He admitted before his legs gave out from underneath him and he joined his partner in a seated position on the floor, all of the earlier soreness and fatigue returning ten-fold now that the panicked adrenaline had left him.

“Woah, ya good there, Dee?” Steelbeak asked with a cocked brow, kneeling down and giving the loon a quick glance over to check for any visible injuries. “ ‘Cause, y’know, if ya broke a leg or somethin’, I am NOT carryin’ your butt back to the car.”

“Wouldn’t ask you to, even if my leg was on the other side of the room.” Dominic sighed, leaning back against a nearby table that had been flipped over in the earlier chaos. “I’m just…tired. I’ll be good to go in a few minutes.”

“Alright.” Steelbeak stood back up, grabbing the C4 explosives and detonators from his jacket. “I’mma go plant these- keep an eye on the place, would ya?”

Dominic attempted to stand up. “I’ll come with yo-”

“YOU can stay here and take five.” Steelbeak insisted, dropping his coat by Dominic as if he were trying to make a point.

The loon glared up at his partner. “I can handle-”

“You already ‘handled’ your half of the work.” The rooster insisted while gesturing to the numerous bodies around them. He looked back down at the other bird once he felt his point had been made. “Now lemme go handle mine.” Dominic was about to refute the other bird’s statement, to insist that he could handle planting a few explosives. But, the next words out of the larger bird’s beak actually surprised him a little. “We’re partners, right? That means we **share**. We share the praise, we share the pay, we share the _work_. So quit tryin’ t’ be a one-man army and **share** for once, got it?”

For someone who was normally so self-centered, and for someone who was not a fan of dirtying his hands with hard work any more than he absolutely had to, the statement carried quite a bit of weight to it.

So, despite his reservations, Dominic sighed, settled back down against the table, and closed his eyes. “Fine. You get five minutes. After that, I’m hotwiring your car and going home- with or without you.”

He couldn’t see it on the lighter bird’s face, but he could certainly _hear_ the amusement in his voice. “Buddy, you take my baby on a joyride without me, partner or not, gettin’ home’s gonna be the **_least_** of your problems.”

Dominic gave a tired chuckle and waved the other bird off. “Then get to work for both our sakes- you’ve got four and a half minutes left.”

“Hmph. Wise guy.” Steelbeak chuckled himself before Dominic heard the tell-tale clack of his shoes on the hard wood floor heading into the kitchen to plant the explosives deeper down within the facility and steal anything the deceased agents may have left behind.

Once he was certain his partner was far away from the main room, Dominic opened his eyes again and cast a tired gaze to the carnage around the bar. He’d certainly done a number on the place, that’s for sure. It had been quite a while since he’d lost control like that- though the drugs that had been coursing through his veins probably didn’t help matters any…

Glancing down at the stained white jacket beside him, he allowed his fingers to trail over the back, skimming just shy of the blood stains. Though the adrenaline of the situation had long left him, he could still feel remnants of the cold-terror that had stabbed him at the thought of losing his partner- that terror multiplied by the thought that **he** could’ve been the one to end his fellow agent’s life and not even realized it.

Dominic closed his eyes again and slumped further against the table, absentmindedly gripping the sleeve of the jacket as he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

The thought of losing Steelbeak, despite his loud-mouthed, smug, flashy nature…it **_hurt_**. It hurt in a way he hadn’t felt in several months. What that meant on a subconscious level, he wasn’t fully ready to face just yet, but it at least made one thing clear to him:

He cared about his partner. He genuinely, without a doubt, had come to _care_ for the taller bird. Whether that type of care would shift into something similar to what he had with his previous partner remained to be seen, but he at least knew now that he cared for the other bird and didn’t want to lose him.

And to think, just the other day his main thoughts regarding his partner were how he tried too hard to buy his attention and that he wouldn’t let it work on him. What a night this was turning out to be…

Right at the four minute mark, he heard the door to the kitchen open and let go of the sleeve he’d been holding. He moved his hand back over to rest casually on his extended legs before cracking one eye open as he heard the other bird’s steps getting closer. “Finally finished?” He questioned the fowl when he came into view in front of the table.

“Yep.” Steelbeak said while planting two more bombs in the main room itself. “This place is set to go off like a theme park on the Fourth of July.” He finished setting up the bombs and glanced over to his partner, taking his condition in once again. “……” Without saying anything, he walked over to where he’d left his minigun and picked it up before making his way over to the loon still sitting on the floor. “I gotta plant a couple more things in here. How’s about you take this out t’ the car and I’ll meet ya there in a sec.” He extended the large gun towards the loon so that the handle was facing him.

Dominic rolled his eyes slightly, recognizing the gesture for what it was but accepting it nonetheless. “Fine, I’ll do the heavy lifting for a change.” He grabbed the offered handle and, with Steelbeak bracing the other end of the gun, pulled himself up to his feet. Once he was stable, he took the gun from the other’s grasp, compensated for the weight, and began walking towards the door. “You’ve got one minute left before I leave you.”

“Believe me, I **know**.” Steelbeak grabbed his jacket off of the ground and reached into the pocket to fish out his car keys. “Just don’t go bleedin’ out in there- I just had her detailed.”

Dominic easily caught the keys that were tossed to him from across the room. “It won’t be **_my_** blood on the seats.” He paused briefly along his path to glance down at his own coat on the ground. He debated about taking it with him, but, he decided, it was far too damaged to be reparable at that point. “It’ll just burn up, anyway..” He muttered to himself before continuing out towards the car.

With his back to the other bird, he didn’t catch Steelbeak glancing over to his tattered coat as well, giving it a thoughtful expression before walking around the bar to finish his work.

* * *

True to his word, about a minute after Dominic had loaded the minigun into the trunk and gotten comfortable in the front seat, Steelbeak exited the bar with his stained jacket balled up under his arm. He tossed the ball of fabric into the trunk with the gun and joined his partner up front.

After driving a few miles down the street to make sure they’d reached a safe viewing distance, Steelbeak presented a remote detonator to Dominic. “Care t’ do the honors, Deedee?” He quirked a brow at the loon with a smirk.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Dominic’s smirk matched his partner’s when he reached over to press the red button.

Within less than a second the bar that had just been the sight of a rather brutal and bloody battle was decimated by an earth-shaking explosion. What remained of the building was quickly engulfed in flames, destroying any remaining evidence and bodies (be they dead or somehow still semi-alive). It was flashy and more than a bit over the top but, honestly, after the day they’d had, such a sight was **_extremely_** gratifying.

* * *

The car ride home was sparse on conversation, but pleasant, nonetheless. They’d both had a long day and were rightfully exhausted. After calling high command to inform them of a successful mission without any major incidents, the pair were relieved to find out that they could wait until tomorrow afternoon to give their full report in person at HQ- a gift that neither of them would question given how tired and in need of some well-earned rest and relaxation they were.

Which was why Dominic was surprised and more than a little confused as to why Steelbeak merely dropped him off at the secret underground F.O.W.L. entrance to their apartment complex (handy on nights like this when agents returned home covered in blood and/or carrying less than legal items), instead of simply parking the car and joining him in the elevator.

“A little late for a joyride, isn’t it?” Dominic questioned the other bird while getting out of the car.

Steelbeak’s answer was a simple shrug. “I got a few things t’ take care of. You just go on up and get your beauty sleep- you need it more than I do.”

Dominic rolled his eyes and shut the car door behind himself. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to shoot you right now.”

“Wow, I am SO lucky- must be my birthday or somethin’.” The rooster chuckled with a sarcastic tone and gave Dominic a two-fingered salute. “Catch ya later, Dee.”

And with that, he drove out of the garage, barely giving Dominic time for a brief wave of his own. He still couldn’t imagine what on Earth his partner would want to do (or even had the energy to do) so late at night after such a draining mission, but, he supposed, once they were off the clock, their business was their own. Besides, at that moment the need to clean himself up and get some rest far outweighed his curiosity over what his partner was doing, so he spent the rest of the night doing just that- taking a nice long shower to clean the blood, soot, dust, and alcohol off before sleeping a very much **_needed_** eight hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, that’s it on the death and destruction for the story, hope everyone enjoyed it ^^
> 
> Getting into the home stretch now with two parts left!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steelbeak has a surprise present for Domino the next day at work- one that he actually LIKES for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit more fluff in this one to cool down after all the blood from the last two parts ^^”

The next day at work, Dominic couldn’t help but wonder about his partner’s physical condition with a touch of curiosity (and some mild concern).

After meeting up with the fowl at their headquarters that afternoon, it was immediately obvious that Steelbeak had not gotten much sleep, if any, the previous night. His eyes were dark & blood shot, his bright red comb & darker tail feathers were a little more disheveled than usual, and his movements & speech were both rather sluggish. The only thing about him that retained its usual sense of class and order was his suit- the black, white, and red outfit was as perfectly maintained as ever, with no trace of the blood stains from last night visible anywhere on his clothes.

When they were granted a ten minute reprieve in the break room before having to attend their debriefing- apparently Ample and Ammonia were busy giving their own much less favorable account of a scheme that had been thwarted by Darkwing Duck- Dominic considered asking if his partner was feeling well enough to give the report, but was given no such chance. Instead, the taller bird just grabbed a Styrofoam cup of coffee, barely taking the time to add anything to it, and walked out of the room with the announcement that he’d be back in a few minutes.

Dominic was confused, but once again shrugged off the odd behavior. If Steelbeak was out late and suffering from a lack of sleep, then it was his own fault for not having better time management skills.

Punctual as ever, Steelbeak returned five minutes later. His cup of coffee was gone and in its place was a large but rather flat white box. “Here.” Was the one word explanation he gave when he unceremoniously dropped the box on the table in front of Dominic.

The loon eyed the box with a slight scowl. Another present? Seriously? He was hoping the other man would have taken the hint by now and moved past such flashy displays. “I don’t-”

“Just shut up and open the box, Dominic.” The rooster interrupted him, his voice worn out and rough from his obvious lack of sleep. Instead of waiting to make sure his partner would do as he said, Steelbeak turned to the door once again. “I’m too tired for this. I’m gonna splash some water on my face. See ya in the meetin’ room.” He gave a lazy wave over his shoulder before leaving the room for good.

Dominic continued to eye the box with a look of irritation for at least a good minute after his partner left. He was half-tempted to throw it in the trash, but he managed to reign in his initial impulse.

Something about this felt…different…

Normally Steelbeak would make much more of a show out of giving him a gift. He would leave it in his car, or in his apartment, or even offer it to him directly in some grand way. The rooster was nothing if not flashy, and to just drop a box down in front of him didn’t seem like his usual style.

Not to mention the actual state of the package was far different than what he’d become reluctantly used to. There was no shimmering wrapping paper or neat bows or ribbons to hold it together. There wasn’t even a completely unnecessary card with its frustratingly familiar message. There was only the plain white box and nothing more.

The lack of presentation and wrapping could have simply been due to the other bird’s lack of sleep and this being a last-minute decision, but even THAT possibility didn’t feel quite right.

Then there was the part that _really_ threw him off: Steelbeak had called him “Dominic”.

Over the months that they’d been forced to work together, the aquatic avian had grown used to a variety of names and nicknames from his partner: Dee. Deedee. Dom. Red-eyes. Short-fuse. Stripes. Wise-guy. And, of course, Domino.

To have the other bird just call him by his name, whether it was slip of the tongue due to lack of sleep or irritability, was honestly surprising.

With a significantly reluctant but resigned attitude, Dominic opened the box and saw-

“My coat??” He had to blink to make sure he wasn’t seeing things because there was absolutely no way it was real.

But, as he pulled the oh-so-familiar white, black and red article of clothing from the box, there was no mistaking it: This was indeed his signature coat.

He was understandably confused by this fact, as he’d left his unsalvageable garment at the bar last night, fully resigned to the fact that he’d have to order a new one. And yet, there it was, good as new. Looking the fabric over thoroughly, Dominic honestly couldn’t even tell if this was the same coat from before or a brand new one that was simply a VERY accurate remake of the previous one- at this point, he honestly would have believed either option given how immaculate it was.

Standing up to put it on properly, he was pleased to find that it still fit perfectly, whether it was a remake or a restoration. It had even been cleaned and pressed, making the edges stand just a bit straighter. He glanced over and caught the sight of his reflection in the metal fridge across the room. It felt good to have his coat back again- it added another layer between himself and the people around him that he found comfort in while on-duty.

Looking back down at his outfit, Dominic felt a small smile slip onto his beak. His coat was a one of a kind item, not something that could have just been purchased at some high-dollar shop in town. That meant that, whether Steelbeak got his old one repaired or had simply commissioned a new one to be made in its place, he would have had to spend a significant amount of time with a tailor describing the article of clothing and what it was supposed to look like in great detail to make sure it came out right.

A significant amount of time that likely equated to the sleep he’d lost last night…

Dominic felt himself smile a little more at the thought, giving a short, quiet chuckle. “Well,” He spoke quietly to himself. “If this is how he wants to throw his money around, I guess I can’t complain.”

He really couldn’t. After all, this was a gift that, without a doubt, had a lot of thought put into it and was something picked out just for _him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet before getting to the ending. Steelbeak’s finally starting to get the right idea! Hooray XD


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steelbeak makes plans after work to go home and relax- plans that are interrupted by a certain bird waiting by his car to give him the type of attention he’s been asking for. Can he handle what he gets, though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final part of the story and it’s lucky number seven that finally gets Steelbeak what he wants. Enjoy!

Steelbeak forced his body to move as he headed towards his car. One foot in front of the other, each step feeling like he was weighed down with iron shackles. He was friggin’ exhausted and about ready to collapse. Once he got home, he was crawling into bed and not budging for the rest of the day…

Or, at least, that was the plan before he spotted a certain loon in a white coat leaning against the side of his car.

“You look like you could use some rest.” Domino commented while looking his partner over.

“Observation of the freakin’ century there, wise guy.” Steelbeak grumbled as he pulled out his car keys. “So, did ya need somethin’, or did you come here just t’ tell me I look like crud?”

“Can’t it be both?” His partner asked sarcastically.

“With you, yeah..” Steelbeak sighed and resignedly leaned against the side of the car too. “So, whattaya want, stripes?”

Domino looked down at his clothes for a moment, straightening out one of his sleeves. “I wanted to thank you for the coat. I don’t know how you managed to get it fixed, but I’m impressed by the workmanship.”

“Eh, don’t mention it.” Steelbeak shrugged indifferently, trying to stifle a yawn at the thought of how long he spent at the tailor’s shop last night. “I know a guy that does good work for supervillains & master criminals and don’t ask no questions..” He brushed some lint off of his sleeve as he spoke. “I was gettin’ mine fixed up and figured, hey, I was there anyway..”

Domino nodded slightly, neither of them really looking at the other. “You’ll have to introduce me sometime.” Things were quiet for a minute or two, neither one saying anything. Just as Steelbeak was about to ask if there was anything else- “Do you have any plans tonight?”

“Huh?” Steelbeak blinked twice, a confused look on his face as he finally lifted his gaze to look at his partner again.

“I asked if you have any plans tonight.” The darker bird repeated while meeting the taller bird’s eyes with a slightly raised brow. “We have at least a day or two before high command calls us for another mission. Have you made any plans yet?”

Steelbeak gave a tired laugh at the question. “Are you kiddin’? The only plans I got involve me, a bed, and the sand man!”

“Oh?” The corner of that dark beak curled up slightly in a smirk, but it was different from the normal ones the fowl was used to. There was something familiar about it, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Do you think Mr.Sand-man would mind too much if I cut your visit with him short?”

The larger bird blinked in confusion again. “Huh?” That was twice in one conversation he’d been unable to say anything else- either Steelbeak was way more exhausted than he thought, or those red eyes were doing something to his head.

Then again, it could have been both with the way Domino was looking him over- as if he was mentally picking him apart like usual, but he actually LIKED what he saw this time. “It’s just that I’d _hate_ to interrupt such a lovely evening, but I know a nice seafood place by the bay that I’d _hate_ to visit **_alone_**.” That smirk shifted into something a bit different- something more charming that made Steelbeak’s heart skip a beat when those red eyes trailed back up to meet his gaze again. “So, do you think you could cut your evening with the sand man short?”

He suddenly realized where he knew that look from: It was from the few times they’d gone out to a bar together. It was the look he would use on some random guy that caught his eye. It was that charming smile and gaze in his eyes that won over nearly any man he approached.

It was Domino’s **_flirting_** look.

Steelbeak almost let another “huh?” cross his beak, but he managed to catch it at the last minute. What came out wasn’t any more eloquent, though. “I..uh…yeah..?” What the heck kind of answer was that?! Did his brain just short-circuit or something?!

He heard a low chuckle from the loon and watched as he pushed himself off of the car and turned to walk away. “I’ll take that as a yes. Meet me at my car at 8:15 and wear something nice.” The metal-beaked bird was about to make an indignant comment about how he always did, when Domino turned his head to look at him from over his shoulder with one eye and that same charming look on his face. “Oh, and for the record-” He winked at the taller bird, silencing him completely. “I like to go dutch on the first date.” He turned away again and walked off. “See you tonight.”

Steelbeak didn’t move a muscle for a long, long, LONG time after Domino left.

He couldn’t.

His heart was beating way too fast, his face under his feathers felt way too warm, and he swore that if he tried to walk now he’d probably just trip over his own feet.

He hadn’t felt like this since he was a kid with his first crush on a cute chick! (A literal chick, but that was a story for another time)

After a few minutes, Steelbeak finally managed to force his body into the car (after fumbling for a good thirty seconds with the key) so that he could properly collapse into the seat and take a moment to wonder-

“WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!!” Thankfully he’d closed the door to the car before loudly asking that question to no one in particular. He ran a hand over his comb to push it back, giving a nervous laugh. “Seriously, what the heck? He just smiles at me and I go turnin’ t’ mush? What am I, a rookie?” Still, it was hard- perhaps **impossible**\- for him to think of that charming smile and that coy look in the shorter bird’s eyes (FINALLY!) being sent his way and NOT get flustered over it. “Geez…” He leaned against the steering wheel and sighed. “Fine mess ya got yourself in this time, ain’t it?” Despite his words, it was hard to ignore the smile on his face. He wasn’t sure what changed between them, or what he finally did right to get that sort of attention from his partner, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Like heck I’m gonna be able t’ sleep after that..” He muttered to himself while starting his car, his mind already running a mile a minute as he tried to figure out what to wear later.

He briefly wondered about stopping by a shop on the way home to pick up a gift for tonight, but, as a song on the radio played in the background, he finally pieced together the one thing he’d been missing and it made him chuckle while bypassing the stores. A simple concept that he’d never once thought of before meeting his grouchy, clever, hands-off partner:

Love don’t cost a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the story’s finished, I can reveal where I got the title from xD I was listening to the song “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” by Jennifer Lopez one day in my car and my mind started creating a scenario involving Steelbeak and Domino where Steelbeak was essentially showing off to try and get Domino’s attention while his partner just scowled and rolled his eyes at his attempts until he started to be less superficial and more genuine with his approaches. The idea soon turned into a full-blown story and, after I got permission, I started writing it out.
> 
> I wanted to give another big shout-out and thank you to the amazing Eleanorose123 for making such a cool OC and allowing me to write something for him- I had so much fun making this and I always love seeing anything he pops up in ^.^ If you haven’t already, go check out her stuff- she’s an amazing writer as well as an insanely talented artist whose work never fails to put a smile on my face after a rough day.


End file.
